The abbreviation VIN stands for Vehicle Identification Number. It contains 17 symbols, including numbers and letters of the Latin alphabet. They encode the country of manufacture, manufacturer (assembler), type of vehicle, year of manufacture and individual body number. The VIN code is present on all cars manufactured since 1981.

Some companies add optional details to the identification number: car model, fuel type, configuration and type of security system. Thanks to this, you can get a lot of useful information about American and German cars even without additional services. Paper reference books, computer programs and mobile applications are used for decoding.

The VIN number of a car is applied to inseparable parts of the body - most often under the hood or near the windshield pillar. It can also be indicated on special plates - nameplates, which are manufactured according to a single standard. To counterfeit a car's VIN, you need to know the principle of its construction - the code contains control characters that allow you to identify counterfeiting.

What can you find out from a car's VIN code?

Identification numbers were created to streamline transactions involving cars. Firstly, for government agencies that track down violators and collect taxes. Secondly, for owners and buyers who want to protect themselves from fraud.

The VIN number of a car is indicated in many documents: the vehicle passport, the registration certificate, the purchase and sale agreement, the property pledge agreement, court orders, internal traffic police orders, insurance policies, diagnostic cards, etc. Work is currently underway to digitize this information. Many databases already exist in electronic form, the rest are waiting for their turn.

Today, you can already get a digital certificate about the presence or absence of a car in the theft database, about arrests and restrictions on vehicle registration. The situation is more complicated with loans and collateral - the database exists, but entries are made voluntarily. There are no uniform standards for other parameters - you have to make do with unofficial services.

Fortunately, work is already underway to combine the existing databases of the State Traffic Safety Inspectorate, insurance companies, technical inspection operators, bailiffs, notary services and other institutions. In the future, it is planned to record the most detailed information about the car in the electronic PTS - right down to the actual mileage, technical condition at the time of diagnostics and accidents registered under the "Europrotocol".

How to check a car for credit, collateral and theft yourself?

Until there is a single database, the task remains labor-intensive and the result unreliable. But even under such conditions, it is possible to weed out 90% of fraudsters.

The VIN number of the car is published in the ad on the website. If the owner has not indicated it, feel free to skip the car - the seller has something to hide. By the way, when the car passes VIN check and you want to inspect it in person, compare the VIN number from the Internet with the real one - if they do not match, the car has serious problems.

Therefore, the second point will be the website of the Federal Notary Chamber. Here they indicate information about any collateral. If the car was bought on credit or provided to the bank as collateral for a loan, you will most likely find it here. But there is one problem. Currently, maintaining this database is voluntary. Banks try to fill it in to find debtors faster. But they can miss some information - due to the carelessness of an employee, at the request of a regular client, or for another reason.

It is also worth checking the car by VIN number on the website of the Federal Bailiff Service. The car is entered into this database if it is seized, is subject to confiscation, or the owner is limited in his rights of disposal by a court decision. But cars also end up here after serious violations.

The best way to check pledges by VIN number today is to review the documents:

1. Ask the seller to take the PTS. If he shows a duplicate of the paper document, you should be wary. Since the original is in the bank, fraudsters often contact the State Traffic Safety Inspectorate with a statement about the "loss" of the passport.


2. Ask if there is CASCO insurance. If yes, look at the policy - it is issued to the owner of the credit car, that is, to the bank.


3. If you have a PTS, STS and OSAGO policy, ask the owner to visit a notary. If he gives a clear refusal, you should have suspicions. If he agrees, you will be able to do a full documentary check within an hour.

By the way, a notarized certificate of absence of collateral will be a strong evidence in court. If the VIN-code checks do not give the desired result and you still buy a car with collateral, you will be able to defend your rights. In this case, the bank will be forced to leave the car with you or pay compensation in the amount of its estimated value.

How to find out the actual mileage by VIN code?

The easiest way is to make a request on websites that post ads for the sale of cars. The service is paid, the cost is up to 500 rubles. Not only active, but also deleted pages are checked. This way you will learn the history of price changes, mileage in different years and information about the technical condition. Large portals also make requests to the State Traffic Safety Inspectorate and other official bodies, finding out about the presence of liens, arrests and other restrictions.

If you meet the seller, ask to take a photo of the MTPL policy. By contacting the insurance company, you can get the latest current technical inspection data by VIN code. This information also includes the mileage at the time of the visit. But the problem is that the diagnostic card can be forged by entering deliberately incorrect numbers in it.

The mileage by the VIN number of the car can also be determined on aggregator portals that collect information about cars. They provide all available information in one concise report. But they also work with publicly available resources. A competent fraudster who knows his business well can only be identified in person or during an inspection of the car.